This invention relates generally to computer interfaces. More specifically, the present invention discloses a variety of computer interfaces that provide content by way of indirection. Preferred embodiments use encoded physical mediums including at least one region having an indirection encoded therein. The present invention also teaches data-linked physical mediums that provide users intuitive access to multimedia information that may be stored remotely.
People are constantly interacting with computerized systems, from the trivial (e.g., the computerized toaster or the remote control television) to the exceedingly complex (e.g., telecommunications systems and the Internet). An advantage of computerization is that such systems provide flexibility and power to their users. However, the price that must be paid for this power and flexibility is, typically, an increase in the difficulty of the human/machine interface.
A fundamental reason for this problem is that computers operate on principles based on the abstract concepts of mathematics and logic, while humans tend to think in a more spatial manner. Often people are more comfortable with physical, three-dimensional objects than they are with the abstractions of the computer world. In short, the power and flexibility provided by the computer and related electronic technology are inherently limited by the ability of the human user to control these devices. Since people do not think like computers, metaphors are adopted to permit people to effectively communicate with computers. In general, better metaphors permit more efficient and medium independent communications between people and computers. The better metaphor will provide the user a natural and intuitive interface with the computer without sacrificing the computer""s potential.
There are, of course, a number of computer interfaces which allow users, with varying degrees of comfort and ease, to interact with computers. For example, keyboards, computer mice, joysticks, etc. allow users to physically manipulate a three-dimensional object to create an input into a computer system. However, these computer interfaces are quite artificial in nature, and tend to require a substantial investment in training to be used efficiently.
Progress has been made in improving the computer interface with the graphical user interface (GUI). With a GUI, icons that represent physical objects are displayed on a computer screen. For example, a document file may look like a page of a document, a directory file might look like a file folder, and an icon of a trash can may be used for disposing of documents and files. In other words, GUIs use xe2x80x9cmetaphorsxe2x80x9d where a graphical icon represents a physical object familiar to users. This makes GUIs easier for most people to use. GUIs were pioneered at such places as Xerox PARC of Palo Alto, Calif. and Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The GUI is also often commonly used with UNIX(trademark) based systems, and is rapidly becoming a standard in the PC/MS-DOS world with the Windows(trademark) operating system provided by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.
While GUIs are a major advance in computer interfaces, they nonetheless present a user with a learning curve due to their still limited metaphor. In other words, an icon can only represent a physical object; it is not itself a physical object. It would be ideal if the computer interface was embodied in a physical medium which could convey a familiar meaning, one perhaps relevant to the task at hand. While progress has been made towards achieving such a goal, many roadblocks yet remain. For example, assuming that for a given application one has selected a physical medium for use as a computer interface, the information necessary to support the computer interface must still be encoded within the physical medium. Additionally, techniques must be developed for linking such interfaces with the vast wealth of information available from remote sources using computer networks like the Internet.
Redford et al.""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,265, entitled xe2x80x9cPRINTED PUBLICATION REMOTE CONTROL FOR ACCESSING INTERACTIVE MEDIA,xe2x80x9d filed Jul. 1, 1994, describes one rudimentary mechanism for encoding information within a physical medium. Redford describes the use of a printed publication such as a book being constructed to include a storage media, a data button, and remote control circuitry. The button is physically attached to the printed publication and when activated by a user, data from the storage media can initiate local feedback at the printed publication and the remote control can transmit a control message to a remote computer system which in turn performs some desired operation.
While strides have been made in attempting to improve computer interfaces, there is still progress to be made in this field. Ultimately, the interface itself should disappear from the conscious thought of users so that they can intuitively accomplish their goals without concern to the mechanics of the interface or the underlying operation of the computerized system.
One embodiment of the present invention teaches an interface system for providing content to a user via a computer network. The interface system has a routing server that maintains a database storing information regarding content addresses and content identification numbers (IDs). Each particular content address directs to content accessible over the computer network. The routing server responds to the receipt of a content ID (which is essentially a request for content) by redirecting the request to a given content address corresponding to the given content ID. Additionally, the routing server may log information regarding the content request on a service access log maintained on a computer readable medium.
In related embodiments, the interface system provides the user an encoded physical medium and a sensor. The encoded physical medium includes an indirection hotspot having a content ID encoded therein. The sensor is operable to decode the content ID and then transmit the decoded content ID to a network device. In turn, the network device transmits the decoded content ID over the computer network to the routing server.
In other related embodiments, the interface system also has a content server coupled with the routing server via the computer network. The content server stores the desired content identified by an entry in the database. It is contemplated that the content server can provide content directly to the network device. Alternatively, the content server can provide the content to the routing server which can log the transaction and then forward the content to the network device.
A separate embodiment of the present invention teaches another interface system for providing content to a user. This interface system includes a computer system having a computer readable medium, an encoded physical medium, and a sensor. The encoded physical medium includes an indirection hotspot having an indirection encoded therein. The indirection designates a storage location on the computer readable medium and the storage location provides a computer instruction initiating the provision of content to the user. The sensor is operable both to decode the indirection encoded in the indirection hotspot and to transmit the decoded indirection to the computer system.
In related embodiments, the storage location on the computer readable medium provides an address to a computer document such as a word processing document, an audio file, a video file, or a graphics file. In these cases when the user engages the sensor with the indirection hotspot, the computer responds by invoking an application suitable for accessing the computer document.
One aspect of the present invention teaches a method for providing a user content over a computer network such as the Internet. The method requires the steps of receiving at a routing web server a uniform resource locator (URL) identification number (ID) transmitted over the computer network by a web device, determining at the routing web server the URL that corresponds to the URL ID, redirecting the request for content to a content web server identified by the URL, and then providing the web device with the requested content.
A related method involves several steps for generating the URL ID prior to transmission to the routing web server. These include measuring and decoding a hotspot present on an encoded physical medium (the hotspot has the URL ID encoded therein), transmitting the URL ID to the web device, and transmitting the URL ID from the web device to the routing web server over the computer network. Other possible steps include providing content to the web device either directly or through the routing web server, logging each request for content at the routing web server, and logging each occurrence of content being routed through the routing web server.
The present invention therefore provides a more intuitive and richer metaphor for the interaction between humans and computerized systems, yet alleviates some of the encoding scheme demands placed upon the computer interface. These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed descriptions and studying the various figures of the drawings.